CvsN 03: A Tangled Web

This is a continuation of the story started in Convenience vs. Need and continued in CvsN: Celebration. If you haven’t read those first, you might enjoy this one better if you did.

* * * *

Ok, ask yourself what you would do? You're single, two years out of college, got a good job, a fairly healthy bank account, and are about to embark on purchasing your first home - a fixer-upper.

Two attractive young ladies offer you a deal - live together, share expenses, share beds. They're both single moms, from 3 to 7 years older than you are. Oh yeah, did I mention one was so hot, the ground scorches whenever she walks by?

Well, what would you do? I know what I did...

* * * *

During the two weeks following that first weekend, we started to settle into a groove. I got permission to start work on the house early, Debbie quit her job, and Karen laid down the law: no hanky-panky until we were all living together. I'd tried arguing, but in the end she won out. With twenty-twenty hindsight, I realized I should have worked out the details of our 'arrangement' before committing to buying the house. I'd lost all my leverage. Hell, I wasn't even getting the hand-jobs I'd been getting before the deal. It might have been great incentive to get things done, but at the time I just thought it was damn mean.

I gave my landlord notice. I was responsible for the next month as well, but I was told that if the place were rented out, I wouldn't have to pay for it. Within three days, the place was off the market. I now needed to get the roof work on the new house completed, or face the prospect of living in the house, but from within a tent.

It was no turning back for all of us. Three adults, two small children, and one very dilapidated home for our combined residence.

In one way I was lucky. As a single guy, with time on his hands, I'd always been available to help others in my office when needed. I helped building decks, moving people, even raising a new garage. So I had a lot of goodwill built up among my buddies, and it was time to take advantage of that.

Two friends in particular I would be depending on heavily. Joe was a good friend who I'd know for years. I'd helped Joe build his deck and raise his garage. We'd been friends for years and I knew he would be willing to help me. He also had a secondary advantage; he was one of 8 brothers, no sisters. I was on two softball teams with him, one men's modified fast pitch, and one co-ed. His brothers, their wives, and his father, were all members of the team; there were only three guys and two girls on these teams that weren't family members. We partied a lot together, and I had helped pour a patio for his parents, and helped a brother move, and another build a deck.

His family was a gold mine of help. Two brothers and the father ran a plumbing business, and another brother was in construction as a finish carpenter. Joe had known of my plans to fix the house, and his entire family had offered up their services where possible. They were really great people, and I loved them like my own family. I was a little concerned about how they'd take the living arrangements. Joe's wife Cathy had a very possessive attitude towards me, and had tried to be a matchmaker for me twice. She had set me up with the girl I was currently dating, a sweet young thing named Beth, barely out of high school, who worked in day-care. She was on our softball team as well.

My other key resource was Jim. Jim was an electrical engineer in the office, and had gotten his professional electrician’s license when remodeling his own home. I'd helped when he'd converted his carport into a third bedroom and bathroom, and got my first taste of running a backhoe when we tore up the carport foundation before we poured the new one.

Two weeks after I'd first decided to go ahead with this plan, things were starting to come together.

* * * *

I had moved the settlement up to Friday. I would take a little extra hit on the end of month interest, but it looked like I had a full team available to help me that weekend, and I wasn't about to put that much work into a place I didn't own. Things went pretty smoothly, and I bitched and moaned about some problems that hadn't been disclosed, and over the fact that some work that was supposed to be done never got completed, and managed to get out with a little more cash than I'd expected.

My bank account was dwindling rapidly, but the return of my deposit and last months rent on my apartment helped a little. Karen had offered to donate her rental deposit when it was returned, but I insisted she keep that for outfitting her rooms and her own expenses.

* * * *

I woke up Saturday, alone as usual. I'd taken Beth out the night before. She was a very sweet and innocent girl, but her pants might as well have been made of titanium. After nearly six weeks, we still only went out infrequently, for a movie or dinner, or to an amusement park once, but necking was as far as she'd go. I was amazed I'd finally gotten my hand in her shirt. Between Beth's indomitable will, and Karen's resolve I was going crazy.

I arrived at the house early, for me, which means only about 45 minutes late. It was a maelstrom of activity. People had been there since dawn. There were at least half-a-dozen guys already at work tearing out the insides of the house and ripping off the old roof. Everything looked like it was going great until my heart stopped.

Under the carport, the girls were setting up tables on sawhorses, and portable picnic tables. There were coolers everywhere, and a variety of breakfast foods scattered around. And girls there were aplenty. Debbie and Karen were there of course, as was Cathy who was trying to take control of the situation. Also present was Joe's mother, one of his sister-in-laws, and the lovely Beth.

I hadn't expected all these women to be there. I hadn't invited any of them. Karen and Debbie I'd expected of course, but I'd forgotten to take Cathy into account. Cathy, though, couldn't stand the idea of all of those men out there, trying to fend for themselves. So she'd set up the onsite support kitchen. And invited Beth, thinking to surprise me. She'd succeeded nicely.

To make things worse, both Beth and Debbie had come dressed to tease. If I hadn't known better, I might almost think they'd coordinated their outfits. Both were wearing small, tight cutoff denim shorts, and tight plain t-shirts, Debbie in pink, Beth in white. The view was exquisite, tempting, and very distracting.

As if that wasn't enough, there were also five little girls running around, all between the ages of 5 and 7.

I headed for the carport, determined to find out how much trouble I was in, and looking to get in some damage control.

"JACK, GET YOUR LAZY SLACKIN’ ASS UP HERE AND MAKE A DECISION!" Joe called to me from the second floor, his head sticking out through the slanted roof.

With a hesitant glance back to 'women's country', I headed for the front door, where I met Joe on his way down to intercept me.

"Damn, man! You've opened up a can of worms," Joe advised me, with a laugh in his voice and a shake of his head.

"I can guess. What's going on?" I was desperate for any kind of information that might tell me how bad things had gotten already.

"You are on Cathy's shit list, buddy. I doubt she'll talk to you for a while. What's the deal with Karen and her friend?"

"They're going to live here with me. We're going to finish out the top level, and the women and their kids will share it. I'll get the master-bedroom on the main floor." We weren't alone in our discussion any more; Jim and one of Joe’s brothers had gathered around to get some of the details, and more were approaching.

"Well, that's not the way Karen's telling it. She's let it out that you are dating her and Debbie. She's let Cathy know that this is her house, and they'll be doing things her way. And of course Beth is still in shock."

Jim couldn't help chiming in. "You should have seen when Karen said the important thing was to get the roof up and the main floor done, so the kids could sleep in the living room, and the adults could share the bedroom. I thought Cathy would go into convulsions."

"And mom is still mumbling to herself, but I think she's mostly just laughing," Rob, Joe's oldest brother added.

“Damn, that Debbie is one hot looking babe. How does an asshole like you merit something like that?” This from Eric, the latest brother to approach the discussion.

"Well, I better go out there and see what I can do..." I started to say.

"Son, you're going to go upstairs and rip off the roof, because that's the farthest we can get you away from them." Bob, Joe's father informed me. "And then, you're going to tell us a little more of what you have going on here, you little devil." He was grinning broadly, and guiding me upstairs with an arm around my shoulders. The laughs and slaps on the back let me know that I had at least half the crowd here backing me to the hilt.

Give the guys credit. They could work hard, and listen to my tangled tale at the same time. Of course a gentleman is discreet, but hell, are there any real gentlemen around anymore?

I explained the premise, Karen and I working, while Debbie was the stay-at-home mom. I couldn't afford the place on my own, with the heavy expense of getting in, and the rent from Karen was going to help. I explained the girls being in a bit of a pickle, and needing a place to stay. Of course that didn't cover the adults sharing the bedroom, and before long I was recounting the entire original deal, including some sketchy details about that first weekend.

There was a lot of laughing, taunting, and cheering going on up there, and every time I looked down, I could swear the expressions on Karen's face was getting more and more smug, and Cathy was just getting redder and redder. The strangest part had to be watching Debbie and Beth gravitate towards each other, both in way over their heads, and looking to stay out of the limelight.

We'd finished ripping off the old roofing, and were gutting the upstairs when Joe's mom came upstairs to let us know lunch was served. She approached me with some advice.

"Jack, you've really stirred up a hornet's nest. My advice to you is to avoid any conversation downstairs, and to take no sides. The girls will eventually work this mess out on their own, and then we'll figure out just where you stand. In the mean time, if I were you, I'd keep a looooow profile. You little devil." Although her voice was stern, her grin was wicked, and might I have been mistaken, or was there a glint of laughter in those eyes?

Lunch was an awkward affair. The house was discussed in detail, but no mention was made of the anticipated living situation. Cathy never sat down, and anytime I got within ten feet of her, she'd turn her back to me and walk away. Karen played hostess and chattered aimlessly, while Beth and Debbie worked together to get the kids fed, again staying well to the side and out of the center of attention. Joe's mom and his sister-in-law MaryAnn helped with the serving and discussed where the best places were to get all the things the house would need like furniture, drapes, appliances. They were planning on hardwood floors in the living room. Taking mom's advice, I let them outfit my house and kept under the radar.

After lunch, the group broke up somewhat, and we worked in different areas of the house. I breathed a sigh of relief that I'd made it through the first potential land-mine field with my skin intact.

"What can I do for you lovely ladies?" I asked, trying to appear harmless - still in my low profile mode.

Debbie answered for the two of them. "Beth and I thought we’d clear out that back building, so we can use it to store our stuff overnight. Can you let us in back there? And help us determine what stays and goes?"

Whew. "Of course, it would be my pleasure." I excused myself from my fellow workers, and headed to the back with the girls.

There were combination locks on the garage doors, and I had a key for the door into the office. I gave Debbie the key to the office, while I showed Beth the combination. When Debbie had unlocked the door, and gone inside, Beth turned to me and threw herself against me, kissing me passionately. She caught me totally unprepared. She pressed herself tightly against me, and a few moments later broke free, and turned to the lock as if nothing had happened.

I'm not rightly sure I knew what was happening, but damn that was a nice kiss!

Give me some credit. I had the good sense to shut my mouth. I unlocked the door, and showed Beth that the garage area was pretty clean. Just some mystery boxes to one side, and stacks of paint cans and wood remnants on the other.

"I don't know what's in the boxes, but the cans and wood can all be tossed." I told her. I turned to face her, and found her inches away from me. Her eyes were seething. She grabbed my sweaty shirt collar and pulled me face down where she kissed me deeply, then bit me on the lip. Hard. Hard enough to bring tears to my eyes.

"You better think about what you want, Jack." With those ominous words she turned away from me, and started gathering up half-empty cans and carrying them outside.

Shaking my head, I turned to the door that went from the office into the garage. It was still locked. I rattled the handle.

Debbie's muffled voice from the other side was barely intelligible. "It's stuck."

I walked back outside, and entered the office from the front. This room was in a lot worse shape. It contained a broken down table, some crummy stacked chairs, and a variety of boxes and moldy books and papers on the shelves.

Debbie had cleared a path to the inside door, and was tugging at it ineffectively.

"Let me help you." I reached past her and grabbed the door handle. It was really stuck. I pulled harder, then gave it a really hard pull, and found myself on the floor, with a broken door handle in my hand.

"Are you ok?" Debbie bent over me, with a genuine look of concern in her eyes. Then she was leaning over me, hugging me desperately. When I took her in my arms, she broke down, sobbing, face buried in my chest. I felt like the perfect cad. I also was completely confused yet again. It seemed like that was a constant problem for me; maybe I had gotten in over my head.

"Baby, don't cry. Everything's going great, don't worry." I tried to comfort her, stroking her hair, and rocking her in my arms. It was a little awkward, doing this from the ground, with my head still ringing from where I'd hit the concrete.

"I'm sorry,” she sniffed. “But she's so pretty, and you're not going to want someone with the baggage I have." I had difficulty making out some of the words between the sniffing and sobs, but the message was clear.

"Debbie. Listen. Whatever else happens, I'm not going to throw you out on the street. You and Karen have a place for as long as you need. If I decide to pursue any other relationships, they'll have to understand that." I was trying for reassuring, but one of my ‘reassuring’ hands had wandered down to her sweet ass, and was pursuing a different message.

Her sobs were coming less frequently now.

"And believe me, baggage or not, I want you very much." I tried to convince her.

"How could you possible want me?" She asked, in all seriousness.

Placing her hand on the lump in my pants, I responded, "How could you doubt me?"

Debbie surprised me then. A big surprise in a day that was full of surprises. She stood up, and as I tried to stand, she wiggled out of her shorts and bent over the table.

"I'm yours." The words were barely more than a whisper, and so wrought with emotion, I didn't know what to do. I could feel the anticipated rejection, hanging between us, and could see she was almost shaking.

Ok. So maybe I'm stupid. With all the people around, and all the trouble already, maybe I should have played it safe. Instead, I bent over and kissed those full, soft cheeks. I pressed my lips against the small of her back. I opened my pants and stuck my stiff cock inside that tempting little target which I had been fantasizing over every night for the last two weeks. In my current overheated state I would be lucky to last two minutes.

Squeezing her ass cheeks, and grasping her hips, I gave that sweet twat a savage pounding. I was happily plugging away, when a shadow crossed the target of my lust, and I looked up to find Beth standing in the doorway.

"Shit," I thought to myself, "well, I didn't really expect that relationship to last this weekend anyway." I smiled sheepishly, and slowed down my pace a bit, but continued to screw Debbie. Beth just watched us for a moment, then turned and walked away. I had a sneaky suspicion that wouldn't be the last I heard of that.

Once Beth had left, I renewed my efforts with Debbie. The imprint of my hands where I grasped her ass stood out in bright red contrast against the paleness of her cheeks and the tanned skin above and below. Even this redness seemed a cruel abomination, and I massaged her butt where I had squeezed it too tight.

I pulled out and pulled her upright, and swept my arm across the desk, clearing everything from atop it. I escorted Debbie around to the other side of the desk and had her lay back down. Her head was a little higher then her ass and she had a tendency to slide down the surface. Pulling her to the edge, I lifted her delicate legs over my shoulders, unable to resist kissing and licking her instep and ankles. I guided my cock back to her pussy, her smooth shaven skin, making her wet readiness all the more apparent. I reentered her with a single full stroke, meeting with little resistance. I then proceeded to screw her.

Looking down at her, watching her watch me, seeing the effect each thrust had - pushing her up the table, shaking her breasts within their stretched constraint; the excitement was almost unbearable. Feeling my release impending, I reached out and stroked her cheek, holding my body still, using just my hips to work myself in and out of her tight confines. I pulled her legs in line, holding the knees together and a little to one side and with a few last strokes brought myself to the verge of completion. Thrusting one last time, deeply, I came. It was so wonderful, emptying my load in that sweet girl, feeling the cum surge forth from deep in my balls, bursting forth to fill her. I released her legs, letting them wrap about me. Debbie leaned forward, her legs holding me tight, still impaled on my rod. She clung to my chest, holding me desperately, clinging with arms and legs. I turned her face upright, stealing a kiss, and thanking her. She finally disentangled herself, retrieved her panties and shorts, and pulled them back on. Then in typical Debbie fashion, she asked if I didn’t have things to do, after which she shooed me out, turned and attacked cleaning that room with a vengeance.

I walked out, ready to go back to the carport and face the music. Beth was just walking out of the garage with an armload of wood remnants. She had a big wheelbarrow there, and was loading it with the trash. I thought I'd find her back at the carport, filling the others in on the vile behavior of the incredibly lecherous Jack of the Low Morals.

I approached her. She shot daggers at me with her glance, then turned back into the garage. I was on some kind of friggin' roller coaster of emotions that day. Up and down, up and down. Once again I felt like the miserable cur I was, knowing I should have broken things off with this girl, or at least given her some inkling of what was going on.